Stress and conflict management in core facilities—News from an imaging survey
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: While conflict management is a well-known challenge for people working in the service sector, this topic remains largely unexplored in scientific imaging core facilities, despite frequent interactions with diverse users in environments with complex service demands. To address this gap, we conducted a survey to assess staff experiences, challenges, and the availability of institutional support. The 38-question survey, completed anonymously, covered three areas: (1) respondent background; (2) assessment of stress in core facilities and coping mechanisms and stress management resources; and (3) work environment challenges such as user interactions and overall work atmosphere. The results highlight the need for more awareness, targeted training, and organisational strategies to improve staff well-being and foster a collaborative work culture. By raising awareness and providing actionable insights, we aim to inform best practices for conflict de-escalation and, when necessary, conflict management in research infrastructure settings. While exemplified with scientific imaging facilities, we believe our survey results are easily transferable to other scientific cores and infrastructures with similar service and user interactions. In addition, the dataset is available to other researchers on figshare. Information concerning the data records, usage notes, code availability, and technical validation is presented.
Source: Journal of Microscopy
DOI: 10.1111/jmi.70102
Authors: Jan Peychl, Chiara Rossi, Nathalie Aulner, Audrey Salles, Nadia Halidi, Maia Brunstein, Adeline Mallet, Karin Aumayr, Jean‐Marc Verbavatz, Thomas Heuser, Rachel Santarella‐Mellwig, Aurelien Dauphin, Eef Parthoens, Manuel Gunkel, Martin Fritsch, Sebastian T Bundschuh, Rym Chaabouni, Agnes Uhereczky, Erin M Tranfield, Pablo Hernández Varas, Sebastian Munck
Institutions: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, KU Leuven, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Centre for Genomic Regulation, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Inserm, Fondation Pour l'Audition, Institut de l'Audition, Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Institut Jacques Monod, Vienna BioCenter Core Facilities, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Génétique et biologie du développement, Institut Curie, VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,760
OpenAlex ID: W7158652567
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